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United Daily News / Compiled by Wang Lijuan / Report
January 12, 2010, 03:31 AM
The British Daily Mail reported that Wolfgang Wodarg, an official from the EU health department, stated that the global pandemic of the new flu was an exaggerated fabrication by pharmaceutical companies aimed at profiting from worldwide fear. Wodarg also strongly criticized the claim of a new flu outbreak as "the biggest medical scandal of the century."
Wolfgang Wodarg, the health chief of the Council of Europe, proposed a resolution calling for an investigation into the truth, which has been approved by the Council. The Council will hold an emergency debate on the matter by the end of the month.
Wodarg accused the World Health Organization (WHO) of being influenced by pharmaceutical and vaccine manufacturers when it decided to declare the new flu a global pandemic.
The WHO's actions allowed these companies to reap "huge profits," while countries worldwide, including the UK, had to allocate a significant portion of their already insufficient health budgets to purchase vaccines and medications to inoculate their populations against what was, in reality, a relatively mild flu.
Wodarg cited the UK as an example, where the government decided to spend £1 billion (approximately NT$51.3 billion) on new flu vaccines at the height of the panic, with the health ministry warning of up to 65,000 potential deaths.
However, last week, there were fewer than 5,000 new flu cases in England, with only 251 deaths in total. Wodarg angrily denounced the claim of a major flu outbreak as "the biggest medical scandal of the century." He said, "What we had was a mild flu, and the pandemic was a false alarm."
Wodarg also accused major pharmaceutical companies of placing "their people" within the WHO and other influential organizations. The WHO softened its definition of a global pandemic, leading to the declaration of the new flu as a global pandemic in June last year.
Source: http://udn. com/ NEWS/ NATIONAL/ NATS1/ 5360441. shtml
UK Media: Did Drug Firms Exaggerate Flu Threat for Profit?
January 12, 2010, 03:31 AM
The British Daily Mail reported that Wolfgang Wodarg, an official from the EU health department, stated that the global pandemic of the new flu was an exaggerated fabrication by pharmaceutical companies aimed at profiting from worldwide fear. Wodarg also strongly criticized the claim of a new flu outbreak as "the biggest medical scandal of the century."
Wolfgang Wodarg, the health chief of the Council of Europe, proposed a resolution calling for an investigation into the truth, which has been approved by the Council. The Council will hold an emergency debate on the matter by the end of the month.
Wodarg accused the World Health Organization (WHO) of being influenced by pharmaceutical and vaccine manufacturers when it decided to declare the new flu a global pandemic.
The WHO's actions allowed these companies to reap "huge profits," while countries worldwide, including the UK, had to allocate a significant portion of their already insufficient health budgets to purchase vaccines and medications to inoculate their populations against what was, in reality, a relatively mild flu.
Wodarg cited the UK as an example, where the government decided to spend £1 billion (approximately NT$51.3 billion) on new flu vaccines at the height of the panic, with the health ministry warning of up to 65,000 potential deaths.
However, last week, there were fewer than 5,000 new flu cases in England, with only 251 deaths in total. Wodarg angrily denounced the claim of a major flu outbreak as "the biggest medical scandal of the century." He said, "What we had was a mild flu, and the pandemic was a false alarm."
Wodarg also accused major pharmaceutical companies of placing "their people" within the WHO and other influential organizations. The WHO softened its definition of a global pandemic, leading to the declaration of the new flu as a global pandemic in June last year.
Source: http://udn. com/ NEWS/ NATIONAL/ NATS1/ 5360441. shtml